Essex Junction's El Gato Cantina Sold to Employee

Read the article at sevendaysvt.com.

Fourteen years after she opened her Mexican restaurant on lower Church Street in Burlington, Tree Bertram sold El Gato Cantina's Essex Junction restaurant and food truck business to employee Javier Zirko on July 1.

Zirko is putting his stamp on El Gato's offerings with a "side menu for Gato 2.0," he said, while keeping its Tex-Mex classics.

"Over the last few years, Vermont has started to get flavors," Zirko said, citing the openings of Café Mamajuana and Santiago's Cuban Cuisine. "Now it's safe to actually release some more authentic Latin and Mexican dishes."

He has also added regular entertainment, including trivia, karaoke and salsa dancing, with live music every other Saturday and service until 11 p.m. or midnight.

Three years ago, Zirko sold Bertram a food truck he'd operated in Florida, serving dishes from his native Argentina. She then hired him to build the events and catering side of El Gato's business with fellow employee Amy Boadway.

The building that houses the Essex Junction restaurant is scheduled to be demolished within two years, Zirko said. He plans to look for an Essex-area location to replace it. Meanwhile, he's also scoping out spaces in the Burlington area for a second location to replace the original, which closed in November 2023.

After 35 years in the restaurant industry in Atlanta and Vermont, Bertram will "semi-retire" and play more pickleball, she said. She helped Zirko write his business plan, and he worked with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity to secure funding.

"I wouldn't give the brand I built to just anybody," Bertram said. "Javi doesn't miss a day. He loves it, he's doing the work, and there aren't a lot of people like that."